juice turning dark in Stardusts

[Sa Da Tay]

I know there has been discussion on this in the past but I haven't been around for awhile and thought I'd check in for any current knowledge. So yeah, my light-colored juices end up almost black when vaped through Stardusts. Now the Stardusts are my first experience with any clear cartomizer/tank setup (i.e. it's the first time I've been able to see the juice as I've vaped) so does this happen with all liquids in any similar setup? Or is it somehow only related to Stardusts? Basically I would like to know if the color change is indicative of any safety issues I should be aware of.

 

[The Hill Giant]

Seems to happen more with the long wicks, from what I can tell, but I'm by no means an expert. Also, sine yo pitty on the runny kine.

 

[occultangle]

I had the short wicks and it did the same thing. It would get really dark and start tasting kinda gross too. If I tried to top them off it would keep getting worse and worse, so I usually had to fill it; use it all; wash it; repeat. I figured this would happen in any type of clear thing, BUT I have been using the Vivi Nova v.2 and it has not been happening. Which is really surprising because the insides are very similar to a Stardust.

 

[Sa Da Tay]

Yeah I've been using short wicks exclusively as well. Anyone else have input on this?

 

[Voltron]

I think the level of thickening varies from juice to juice. Some eventually turn very dark and nasty, while others can be vaped till the last drop.

 

[wv2win]

I think when any eliquid is exposed to air, light and heat, this is going to happen, over time. You just can't see it with non-clear cartos. I was told by a supplier that the heating element causes some of the color change.

 

[AlmityPunx]

i got the same issue with the short wick ones...

the flavor doesnt seem to change much, maybe a tad of a burnt flavor towards the end but eeh... i just rinse it out and refill when that happens.

 

[TamJeff]

It's from the coil cooking the juice. It darkens at the coil and then is mixed with the juice in the tank via the wick as you tip, roll it around etc. It's the only thing really happening inside of it. As far as the juice getting thicker, it is about like any other liquid reduction in the presence of heat.

 

[Pappy]

Somebody, somewhere speculated that perhaps the lighter, thinner elements of the juice are being wicked at a faster rate than the darker, thicker elements, thus leaving the darker, thicker elements behind.

Beats me, but sounds plausible.

 

[harleydiva]

Yeah I've been using short wicks exclusively as well. Anyone else have input on this?

I've used both....don't see any difference with wick length. Have noticed that sweeter dessert or bakery juices to it much more frequently. Fruity juices don't seem as susceptible to it. I do agree that it hasn't happened with the Vivi Nova. Looking forward to the new Stardust that is going to use the same type heads as the Vivi Nova....may solve the problem.

 

[Stubby]

The reason the liquid gets darker appears to be because the wick will absorb the lighter elements and leave the heavier darker elements. SteelJan did a video where she gets into the problem. You can see it at about 6:50.

GotVapes Phoenix Bottom-Coil Clearomizer Review - YouTube

As can be seen in the video it does not happen with bottom coil clears but happens with all top coil clears I have used. For me that was the Fluxos and the Visions. I have been using the Phoenix and there is no thickening. There is no way to stop it and they only thing that can be done is to clean them on a regular basis. It is a wicking issue that is inherent in top coil clears.

 

[occultangle]

With all this talk of lighter elements and heavy elements wicking at different speeds, which I agree is likely, it brings up a new question. How does nicotine react to a wick? Does it wick all out in the beginning? Does it all pull up at the end? Or does it wick up evenly?

 

[SuperLuckyLady]

Dark compounds usually have a higher boiling point, so will be left behind in the carto while the lower boiling point liquids come off first.

In a similar fashion, as you vape a mixture of two or more liquids, the initial vapor will be richer in the lower boiling components. What's left behind in the carto gets richer in the higher boiling point liquids. VG has a higher boiling point that PG, so the liquid left in the carto becomes progressively richer in VG as you vape, and thus thicker.

 

[mudshovel]

This happened in my short wicked vivi nova 2 as well.. Kinda tasted like it was carmelizing the liquid.. i just dumped the juice back in the bottle and gave it a shake and then filled back up..

 

[oxygen thief]

With all this talk of lighter elements and heavy elements wicking at different speeds, which I agree is likely, it brings up a new question. How does nicotine react to a wick? Does it wick all out in the beginning? Does it all pull up at the end? Or does it wick up evenly?

Great question..hope someone has an answer.

 

[skelley]

I noticed this many months ago with the CE4+'s (stardust types).
I have came to 2 conclusions.
1) It seemed that the lighter particulates seemed to wick faster leaving the heavier particulates for the end. I noticed that the wife would dump out a lot of juice. I filled a CE4+ and vaped 1/2, then topped it off and repeated this process 3 times.
I then poured the remaining half into a atty. This was the worse juice I ever vaped.

2) I blame on crappy juice/ingredients whether it's cheap PG/VG/nicotine.
I have been using the newer CE3's since 4/1 and I have never had any issues until recently.
I was ordering supplies and noticed that the vendor starting selling in house juice so I added a few bottles.
Immediately with in the 2nd or 3rd vape I had these long brown streaks coming from the bottom coil wicks and it instantly tasted like crap. These were new CE3's off a fresh clean. I drained the juice, disassembled; cleaned; dry burned the CE3 and filled it again with the same juice. I had the same exact results, long brown streaks started almost instantly when I vaped.

I re-cleaned the CE3 and added some of my well known juice and everything was fine. I contacted the vendor to let him know that there might be a possible problem with his liquid, but I never heard back.

 

[nnote]

as a juice gunks up a coil, the carbon wicks back into the juice darkening it.

 

[bulletmonkey]

I like it, I top up when it gets darker and give them a shake to mix it in. Seems to add flavour for me